About Kyle Aufderheide

The classic adventure game Shovel Knight from developer Yacht Club Games is due to release next week, according to a recent tweet from Microsoft’s Major Nelson. He first tweeted the game would …
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Contrast is developed and published by Compulsion Games. It was released on Xbox One for $14.99 on June 6, 2014. It is also available on Xbox 360 for $14.99. An Xbox One copy was provided for review purposes.

A shadow is the absence of light behind an object. Shadows know nothing else besides darkness and only exist in attachment to another. Shadows emit fear, mystery, the unknown. A shadow adds another layer to an object, a person. Often over sought, we often only view what’s on the surface, we don’t think twice. What’s on the surface is rather accordingly never as it seems, yet a shadow can show exactly what it seems. The warping of light and spacetime; the peeling back of our layered complexities; and questioning of what is reality are all captured by the beautiful artistry of Contrast.

Set in turn-of-the-century Paris, Contrast tells the story of a young girl, Didi, as she sets out upon the nocturnal Parisian streets to bring her family back together. Her mother works late nights at the gentleman’s club, and her father is deep in debt with the gangs. Didi just want to have one happy family again. Tagging along is her shadowy companion Dawn, who uses her mysterious powers to warp into the shadows and complete complicated platforming puzzles based upon the manipulation of light and shadows cast on the walls. Thus, the game becomes an existential experience that comments on family, science and emotion.

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Sixty Second Shooter Prime is developed and published by Happion Laboratories. It was released June 18, 2014 on Xbox One for $4.99. An Xbox One copy was provided for review purposes.

ID@Xbox is shaping up to be an excellent and very welcome platform for independent developers to bring their beloved games to the Xbox One platform. With the program, we’ll see exciting creative directions and artistic expressions. But then there comes along a game such as Sixty Second Shooter Prime that brings out the worst plague of the mobile market today: cloning.

Sixty Second Shooter Prime is a twin-stick shooter that tasks the player with traversing a two-dimensional plane, blasting away hordes of geometric enemies, each with different patterns and tactics the player must evade. The catch? The player has only 60 seconds and one life. Rack up as many points as you can while collecting powerups and multipliers and try to topple your friends’ high scores. Sound familiar?

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It seems Microsoft has been holding back on ID@Xbox content until today. An ID@Xbox montage trailer showcased during Microsoft’s annual E3 press conference included over 35 indie titles coming soon to Xbox One. Some of the titles were previously announced ID@Xbox releases, but many are new to the program. Watch the trailer above for teases, and check out the full list after the jump of every game covered in the montage.

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Nutjitsu was developed and published by Ninjabee. It was released May 8, 2014 on Xbox One for $6.49. An Xbox One copy was provided for review purposes.

Nutjitsu is, quite simply, a mobile game. It has all the makings of a great iOS or Droid game: its top-down repetitiveness is perfect for wasting time in a doctor’s waiting room or in line for a cup of coffee. Nutjitsu is simple and fun for five minutes at a time, but this version XBLA Fans reviewed is not for mobile devices; it’s for Xbox One, which is the game’s ultimate downfall.

Nutjitsu is clearly inspired by Pac-Man. The player, assuming the role of an adorable ninja squirrel, must collect acorns of different colors that denote different point values all while avoiding equally adorable ninja foxes. The game is divided into two modes. Mission Mode requires the player to complete random objectives on a randomly selected map, such as collecting a certain amount of scrolls or collecting acorns of a certain color. Survival Mode simply asks the player to survive as long as possible without being attacked by the foxes and while racking up a high score. Various power-ups are thrown into the game, like speed boosts and freeze blasts, to spice thing up and give you the upper hand. The game doesn’t boast much more than that, leading to a lackluster experience.

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Today, Ubisoft released a new gameplay trailer for their highly anticipated Trials Fusion from developer RedLynx. The “Ride On” gameplay trailer details the stunningly gorgeous new vistas you’ll power …
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We’re late, and it seems that’s become somewhat of a trend for us lately. Our Game of the Year awards weren’t doled out until January, and now our look forward at the XBLA and Xbox One XBLA-type games of 2014 is just making its way to you in February. You were on your own when it came to planning out January’s releases, but now it’s time for our annual look ahead at the top downloadable games likely to arrive on an Xbox platform during the (remainder of) the year ahead. Read on to find out what you can expect out of Xbox over the next (not quite) 365.

Developer: International Games

Set aboard a doomed space station in which the flow of time has stopped, Constant C has you playing as a rescue robot navigating the paused wreckage to save the station and its survivors. Constant C is a 2D-platformer boasting gorgeous soft blues and reds on a jet-black background. As the rescue robot, you will manipulate time and space to overcome the puzzles and challenges you’re pitted against. The time manipulation is based on your touch; whatever you touch returns the object to the flow of time, such as blocks paused in mid-fall. The gravity manipulation consists of tilting the 2D screen in 90-degree rotations. Both abilities will be crucial to traversing the 100+ mind-blowing stages. Met with favorable reviews on PC, Constant C is now on its way to XBLA this spring.

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Update: According to a note on Major Nelson’s blog, the 50 percent off “LocoCycle is a permanent discount and not a weekly deal, so those hoping to pick up …
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Zoë Mode’s quirky arcade golf title Powerstar Golf is currently on sale for one week only. Originally priced at $19.99, the cost to own has been dropped to $14.99, …
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Hey everyone. With Xbox One now out on the market, its new friends and follow system is here. Back in May, Microsoft confirmed the friend cap, originally 100 on Xbox 360, would be raised to 1,000 total friends. In addition, fellow gamers can now follow other gamers without actually friending each other, thanks to the allowance of an infinite amount of follows and followers. How does the follower system work exactly? Let’s break it down.

Say there is Person A and Person B. Person A chooses to follow Person B, thus Person B has one more follower. If Person B decides to follow Person A back, then Person A and Person B have now just become friends.

Much like how some of you may follow our staff on Twitter, we thought we’d share some of our staff’s gamertags with those readers who are picking up the Xbox One. We feel that having you follow our staff will not only strengthen our relationship to our awesome community, but also better coordinate future community playdates, allow for bragging to each other about our leaderboard standings and so forth. So, here’s a few of our gamertags to follow:

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